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Arsenal’s Diluted Captaincy Highlighted By Mikel Arteta
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal have not had a legitimate captain for years now and it has to feel like a leadership vacuum. The bigger issues just keep getting bigger with the armband.
It’s been the theme of the day here at Pain in the Arsenal because the Mirror had to go and get me riled up. In case you have not been following, the Arsenal captaincy is yet again up for debate. Apparently no one on the squad is worthy enough in Arsene Wenger’s estimation, so he may turn to Petr Cech.
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Cech obviously just arrived this past summer, so making him captain may seem a bit, well, interesting – to say the least.
But the other issue that I keep alluding to is the fact that Wenger will not change captains until the previous captain has moved on. This is all highlighted by Mikel Arteta’s captaincy.
The fact that Mikel Arteta is still captain of Arsenal is cause for concern. But it has flown under the radar. I know I beat this point to death, but every big club out there has a reliable captain that lives for the club. Arsenal do not have that. Apparently they cannot even find a captain who plays for the club.
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Per Mertesacker has been serving as vice captain of the club, but his play time is limited as well. So that armband has been falling to whoever deserves a bit of a pat on the back. Theo Walcott landed the armband for being at the club ten years. Laurent Koscielny got it after him. Why? Not sure really. Because who else?
The major issue here is that Arsene Wenger has yet again proven that he won’t take the armband away from someone until they are sold or retire. So by that estimation, Wenger treats the band with the utmost respect. By branding it on someone’s arm for the duration of their stay at club, you are showing it’s worth. It should not be an easy experience to have the band ripped away from you.
But then at the same time, Wenger treats Arsenal’s captaincy like a gold star, giving it to whoever has done something nice the day before. Make the boss dinner, get the armband the next day.
It’s a bit contradictory. Mikel Arteta has not been a consistent player for years, yet when he retires, he is going to look for someone that is a more consistent player. Wouldn’t it have been more beneficial to take it from Arteta when he stopped being a regular? If he is willing to put the players feelings ahead of the team’s needs, than why is Mathieu Debuchy not being sold to Manchester United like he wanted to?
It sends conflicting messages.
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And speaking of points that I beat to death, whatever happened to that one rogue idea that Aaron Ramsey should be captain? Oh that’s right, I started that rogue idea. What doesn’t he have that a captain should have?
He has been here since he was a teenager. He has risen to a major role. He plays centrally. He plays regularly. He has a fantastic work ethic. He has captained Wales – successfully I may add. He has expressed an interest in captaining Arsenal. Many compare him to Steven Gerrard, the long-time Liverpool captain. He could captain Arsenal for a decade. What is missing?
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The only potential downfall is that he can be a tad selfish at times, but that can be ironed out. And taking on a role of greater responsibility at Arsenal may be all the ironing he needs.